1. Field
Embodiments of the described technology relate generally to a rechargeable battery that is short-circuited when a vent hole is opened.
2. Description of the Related Art
A rechargeable battery can be repeatedly charged and discharged, unlike a primary battery, which is not designed to be recharged. A rechargeable battery of a small capacity is used for a small portable electronic device such as a mobile phone or a laptop computer and a camcorder. A rechargeable battery of a large capacity is widely used as a power source for driving a motor of a hybrid vehicle.
In a representative rechargeable battery, a nickel-cadmium (Ni-Cd) battery, a nickel-hydrogen (Ni-MH) battery, a lithium (Li) battery, and a lithium ion (Li-ion) rechargeable battery exist. The Li-ion rechargeable battery has an operation voltage that is higher by about 3 times than those of a Ni-Cd battery and a Ni-MH battery that are widely used as a power source of portable electronic equipment. Further, due to a high energy density per unit weight, the Li-ion rechargeable battery has been widely used.
The rechargeable battery generally uses a lithium-based oxide as a positive electrode active material and a carbon material as a negative electrode active material. In general, the rechargeable battery is classified into a liquid electrolyte battery and a polymer electrolyte battery according to a kind of an electrolyte. A battery using a liquid electrolyte is referred to as a Li-ion battery, and a battery using a polymer electrolyte is referred to as a lithium polymer battery.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the described technology and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.